Journey takes 35,000 back to the future at Fenway Park

Jay Miller / For The Patriot Ledger

Sunday

Aug 12, 2018 at 12:01 AMAug 16, 2018 at 2:16 PM

It was Back to the Future at Fenway Park Saturday night, as three of the 1980s' most beloved rock 'n' roll bands filled the venerable ballpark with 35,000 or so giddy fans. Marty McFly was not sighted, but pretty much everyone else who was anyone on the rock charts in the '80s was on hand.

The official lineup featured co-headliners Journey and Def Leppard, with special guests Cheap Trick, and if that seems like an odd trio in theory, in practice it made for a fairly seamless night of rock and pop. Journey has that seemingly endless songbook of pop hits, and if some might criticize them for being too commercial, there's no denying the lasting appeal, and infectious quality of those tunes. Def Leppard has an image of being a more metal type of harder rocking outfit, but their 90 minute set displayed the enduring pop songcraft behind their biggest hits too, so that there really was a lot of simpatico sounds between the two headliners. Cheap Trick was probably the edgiest and most raw of the three rock bands, as well as the oldest, but if there's any foursome that enjoys playing rock 'n' roll more than the Tricksters, we haven't heard them.

Saturday night's crowd was probably skewed towards that demographic that had its rockin' heyday in the 1980s, but it was also impressively comprised of all ages. In front of us was a forty-something mother and her teenage daughter, both singing along to practically every Journey song. Next to us were a couple of Berklee College of Music students, and the female guitarist had brought her instrument with her, and had a backstage pass to get it signed by Def Leppard's Phil Collen. And despite their 5:30 p.m. set time, Cheap Trick's hour on stage came before better than 20,000 of the fans, who'd obviously showed up early just for that.

Journey, from its origins circa 1973, has always been based around the talents of guitarist Neal Schon, but the lineup has had some major changes over the years. Steve Perry, the band's vocalist in the days of their greatest successes, left the band in 1991 and hasn't been back. In 2007, Journey auditioned several new singers, and chose Filipino vocalist Arnel Pineda. More to the point for local fans, drummer Steve Smith of Whitman--a Berklee College alumnus--took over the drum chair in 1978, and although he's taken time off to devote to his jazz group Vital Information, he's been back since 2016. Pianist Jonathan Cain isn't an original member, but has been with Journey so long most fans think of him as the main guy at that slot. Bassist Ross Valory was there at the beginning with Schon, and except for a 1986-95 stretch, ever since.

Journey's first few songs didn't seem to catch fire, but by "Stone in Love" they were firing on all cylinders, as Pineda had a volunteer chorus of 35,000 singing along. Schon's constant smile showed how much he was digging the scene, and his fiery leads made "be Godd to Yourself" another raucous delight. Schon, 64, noted that the next song had been just the second one he'd ever written with Perry, with their San Francisco Bay area inspiring much of it, and Pineda sang that power ballad, "Lights," with seemingly every one of the spine-tingling notes Perry had hit way back when.

Cain played a marvelously melodic piano overture, with subtle jazz dynamics, before it resolved into a bluesy intro to "Who's Crying Now?," which might have been the best vocal of the night for Pineda, "the kid" of the group who is, unbelievably, now 50. Pineda also shone on the sweeping ballad "Open Arms," which also came with a sweet piano intro, and tasty accents from Schon's guitar--not to mention that stadium-full of extra singers.

The relatively jazzy song "La Di Da" seemed like mainly an excuse for a Smith drum showcase, and, behind his signature model Sonor kit, his image enlarged on the video screens on either side, overhead, and behind the stage, Smith certainly delivered. Smith's solo was a playful, polyrhythmic romp, which he topped off by playing snare drum rolls with one stick, as the other one "accidentally" rolled free, alternating stick-on-snare with barehanded strikes, and then an impressive array of stick-twirling stunts without losing the beat. As it all came to a climax and the band joined back in, Smith leaned back and punctuated it all by striking the huge gong (a Zildjian model--hello Norwell) behind him, prompting a huge ovation.

The surging energy of "Anyway You Want It" fired up a sprint through the homestretch, with a blazing Schon solo marking "Liberty," and then accelerating tempos making one of the band's oldest hits, "Wheel in the Sky," burst out with new life. Cain noted that he'd penned "Faithfully" to reflect the way the musicians and their crew had to be gone from home and family for long stretches, but never stopped being homesick, and that 1983 ballad had the whole place swinging and swaying, as Schon and Cain played off each other with aplomb. Of course, the night had to end with a spirited reading of "Don't Stop Believin'" and no doubt the throng of fans walked out believing these songs will never stop being a part of their own history.

Def Leppard's 14-song set was so dazzling they were called back for two encore tunes, an unexpected treat on such a tightly scheduled night. Def Leppard's main characters are singer Joe Elliott and lead guitarist Phil Collen, and countless fans know about drummer Rick Allen, who lost his left arm in a 1984 car crash, but developed a way to continue performing by using extra foot pedals. At one point last night Elliott noted that guitarist Vivian Campbell now lives in the area, so the band has a local tie beyond Boston being one of its most popular tour stops.

Def Leppard also had the best stage craft, with lasers shooting up and over the stage, superbly creative video work behind them, and an opening where they came out amid rows of faux tv screens piled in front of the stage and on both flanking screens.

The rowdy party rock of "Rocket" kicked off that first volley with the tvs, and then a mind-blowing neon design colored the hard-rocking "Animal." Elliott, 59, was dressed in a black leather jacket with yellow slashes and black jeans as he strode the stage, while at stage right, Collen, 60, showed how his legendary workout regimen still pays dividends by playing shirtless all night. "Foolin'" from their 1983 "Pyromania" album, one of their biggest smashes, demonstrated how Def Leppard's brand of hard rock (some called it 'neo-metal') could still contain such well-crafted melodies that they'd have a ballpark full of folks singing along to them too.

"When Love and Hate Collide" was as close to a ballad as Def Leppard got, but it worked off a slow-to-midtempo buildup, with three-part vocal harmonies on the chorus, and a taut and visceral Collen guitar solo. Noting their first Boston gig back in 1980, Elliott pointed out how they'd always admired acts like Aersomith, The J.Geils Band, and the Dropkick Murphys. Pivoting off that salute to mention their 2006 album of their favorite covers, Elliott introduced the band's cover of David Essex' old hit, "Rock On," which the quintet began with a bass solo, and then turned into a bluesy stroll, heightened by a psychedelic Collen solo. Elliott and the two guitarists all picked up acoustic guitars to sing a lovely minimalist take of "Two Steps Behind," and again their underrated vocal harmonies shone.

Def Leppard's set roared through the rumbling "Man Enough," to the crescendos of the power ballad "Love Bites," to a guitar duel on "Switch 625." Old photos and videos of the band from years long past were shone during their big hit "Hysteria," before the chugging singalong rocker "Pour Some Sugar On Me" ended the regular set. For their encore, Def Leppard did a sizzling "Rock of Ages," and then a wildly exhilarating "Photograph," with huge negative strips projected on the screens behind them.

Cheap Trick's set peaked with their intensely passionate "I Want You To Want me," with singer Robin Zander, 65, commanding the stage in a sleeveless white tee and big straw sombrero. Guitarist Rick Nielsen, 69, seemed as bewitched by rock 'n' roll as ever during the driving "Dream Police." It seemed like the finale of "Surrender" came with extra bottom end, which just made it more celebratory as the band exhorted the crowd to join in that timeless chorus, "We're all alright!"